Getting Started

The Baha’i Faith is an important new world religion that began in the mid 1800’s in Iran. It was started by a man who claimed to be a Divine Messenger, and who called Himself Baha’u’llah (which means ‘The Glory of God’ in Arabic). In just over 150 years this powerful and life-changing new religion has spread like wildfire to every corner of the globe. Baha’u’llah’s message of peace, unity, reconciliation, moral integrity, and unconditional love has inspired millions of people from all ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds to embrace His Cause called the Baha’i Faith.

The Baha’i Faith teaches that all the world’s major religions come from the same God, and that each religion has an essential role in the development of the human experience on this planet. Baha’is work for justice in the world at all levels; promoting the equality of the sexes, the healing and ultimate unity between the races, the education and economic development of the poor, and the peaceful unity of nations.

Baha’is believe that a loving and all-providing God has never left humanity without guidance. Baha’is believe that all the World’s religions are from the same Source, and that the latest divine guidance has come from God’s most recent Messenger, Baha’u’llah.  The Baha’i teachings state that the purpose of life is to develop spiritual qualities, such as love, forgiveness, mercy, kindness, knowledge, and truthfulness. Baha’is work daily for peace, justice, equality, unity, and love in the world. The goal is the peaceful unity of humanity in worship of its Creator, and our lives are meant to be a sacrifice for this Cause.

Baha’is also believe in action, in service, and in doing something for the world around us. The Baha’i writings say, “If we are true Baha’is speech is not needed. Our actions will help in the world, will spread civilization, will help the progress of science, and cause the arts to develop. Without action nothing in the material world can be accomplished, neither can words unaided advance a man in the spiritual Kingdom. It is not through lip-service only that the elect of God have attained to holiness, but by patient lives of active service they have brought light into the world.” (Abdu'l-Baha, PT, p. 80)

Baha’is engage in a number of activities that we can broadly categorize in two ways. The first category is focused on developing their inner selves. The second category is focused on developing the world around.

When Baha’is work on developing their inner selves, they must first accept Baha’u’llah as the Messenger of God for our Age. This is a lifelong process for most. It is a process of developing a relationship with your Lord. For each person, it takes a very personal and unique form, but it starts with an inner commitment that says, ‘I believe.’ This is the beginning of faith. Baha’is then develop this relationship throughout their lives using a number of tools and techniques given to them by Baha’u’llah. Baha’is pray and meditate every day using the words revealed by Baha’u’llah for this purpose. Baha’is also try to reflect on their actions and thoughts to constantly strive to be better, using the standards set forth in our Holy Writings. Baha’is work to overcome selfish egos and to become more caring. And through this inner struggle strive to be the heavenly and noble beings that God gave everyone the potential to become.

Once the inner self has begun the lifelong process of refinement, Baha’is feel a desire to shape and improve the world around.  Baha’is do this in many ways. In Baha’i communities they have regular meetings where encouragement is offered, support, love and service to each other. There are Baha’is from every economic, social, religious, and cultural background and the results of the spiritual fusion of all these differences are truly rewarding.

Baha’is strive to develop the world around by supporting social actions that promote peace, unity, justice, and spiritual awareness around the world. In some communities Baha’is help in the struggle to end racism. In other communities they help to overcome sexism and to promote the equality of men and women. In other communities they help children by providing education and basic health services. Today, around the world, Baha’is have thousands of social and economic development projects focused on serving mankind and fulfilling the mandate of our Faith, which is to make this world into a peaceful, unified, and spiritually enlightened homeland for all.

"O son of being! Love Me, that I may love thee." ~ Baha'u'llah

There are as many reasons to join the Baha’i Faith as there are Baha’is in the world. Everyone who investigates this Message must decide for him or herself whether it is right and true, and whether they want to be a part of it. Everyone who investigates this Faith has a journey that they are on. They all have a unique story to play out in this world. Some must learn to separate the truth from the power of the status quo, much as the first Jews separated Moses’ teachings from Pharaoh’s power and accepted the truth He brought. Some must break with ancient religious traditions that are as old as history itself, much as the first Christians did when they turned from generations of polytheistic beliefs. Some learn to open their minds to new interpretations of Holy Books that have been studied by countless scholars, much as Christ brought a new interpretation of the Old Testament in the Bible that the Jewish scholars could not accept.

Some have never known a religion. They sometimes cannot even sit in an empty room and reach out in the seeming nothingness in prayer. For them, the very concept of God may be a challenge that must be overcome. Baha’is believe they must learn to accept something bigger in their lives in order to become something more in themselves. Baha’is believe that until we realize the Creator’s purpose for us, we cannot truly know our own selves. As Baha’u’llah wrote, “O son of being! Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee. Know this, O servant.” (HW).  Some do not like religion at all. They must overcome deep prejudices against religion in order to see the beauty and hope that the Baha’i Faith offers.

Some look in at our Baha’i community and see that Baha’is who claim to be working for a better world are not already perfect themselves. They see the faults of some of the believers as hindrances to their own acceptance. They must learn to see the truth of the Message apart from the souls who struggle to uphold it. Baha’is are not perfect, and they do not pretend to be. Who they are is a group of people, from every corner of the globe, who are honestly striving to be a better people. Seeking souls must learn to not expect change overnight, even from Baha’is. They must learn to be patient, loving, and forgiving of others, especially Baha’is. They must accept the fact that changing history may take several generations, and learn to love the fact that Baha’is are trying.

Baha’is are constantly inspired by a Message of hope, purpose, and meaning for the world. The rewards of living the Baha’i life, with the understandings and insight that it brings, combined with the perspective and balance that it engenders, are truly incalculable. The Baha’i faith offers a way to serve, a way to prosper, and a way to live. It brings a message of spiritual healing and inspiration to all mankind. It offers us all a unifying sense of hope for a better day. Therefore, to be a Baha’i—is to truly live.

To join the Baha’i Faith, one must join the worldwide Baha’i Community. You currently do this by getting a ‘declaration card’ from the local or national community administration. When you sign this card, you are saying that you believe that Baha’u’llah is who He says He is: the Messenger of God for our Age. Taken further, being part of the worldwide Baha’i community means you accept that Abdu’l-Baha, Shoghi Effendi, and the Universal House of Justice are the rightful successor leaders of Baha’u’llah’s Cause. Additionally, Baha’is believe in working for world peace, ending extreme poverty, universal education, equality of the sexes, ending racism, and trying to improve ourselves, and so you also commit yourself to working for these causes.

Once you become a Baha’i, your life will only change if you want it to. In this religion, we have no clergy, no ministers, no charismatic leaders who will knock on your door and drag you to meetings. Baha’is believe wholeheartedly in the concept of the ‘individual investigation of truth’, and as with most activities in our lives, this means that you will only get out of it what you put in.

A Baha’i fireside is a very special gathering for people who want to learn about the Baha’i Faith. A fireside serves a very important function in the Baha’i community. That function is to educate anyone who is sincerely interested in learning about the Baha’i Faith. Since Baha’is are forbidden by the Founder of their Faith from proselytizing, firesides have become an important way for people to learn about and join the Baha’i Faith.

Baha’is have a whole host of activities that are open to the public. They have regular ‘firesides’ where people can come to hear talks and ask questions. They have ‘study circles,’ and what are called deepenings, where they gather with interested people and study the Writings of the Baha’I Faith. There are also devotional meetings where people of all faiths comes to Baha’i homes and centers to gain spiritual sustenance and inspiration. Many Baha’i communities host talks by specialists on varying subjects related to the Baha’i Faith or its teachings. There are also workshops, children’s classes, summer schools, weekend institutes, and many other activities that may be going on in your area. Baha’is also have holidays and festivals during the year where they gather to deepen their connection to the Faith and foster a sense of community.

Baha’is also attend regular gatherings once every 19 days called ‘Feast.’ This Feast is an institution in our Faith that Baha’is are strongly exhorted to attend. A Feast is divided into three time periods: a devotional portion of prayers, music and readings from the Holy Writings; a business portion where local, regional, national, and international Baha’i news is reported and discussed; and a social portion with food where Baha’is have a chance to talk and share with each other.

Depending on the size of the community, Baha'is may gather in peoples homes, in public meeting halls, in Baha'i centers or Baha'i houses of worship.

If you are in the United States, the best place to start is 1-800-22-unite. This will connect you with the nationwide Baha’i community. They will hopefully be able to direct you to the Baha’i community nearest you. Another way is to look in the local phone book for the local Baha’i contact number. If that doesn’t work, you can go to the web site. In the US, you can go to http://www.us.bahai.org. If you are outside the US, you can go to http://www.bahai.org.